1 – What is the RoadBook ?

Preparing a voyage is never a simple affair. The right marine charts must be found, the points of passage must be determined, the course traced and headings calculated, variation and tides taken into account. In normal circumstances, the calculator is already beginning to overheat, and the main points have yet to be recorded in a notebook which will almost certainly become soaked and illegible. Once again Adrena has the solution for simplifying navigation as much as possible, so that pleasure can take over.

Adrena software is very easy to use for navigation whether racing or simply cruising. Its flexible system of cartography, which makes few hardware demands, means you can mark your points of passage and personalise them at will. The day’s navigation is prepared in a few mouse clicks while comfortably sitting at home. All that remains is to connect the computer to the navigational instruments computer to have all the navigational calculations, already made, on board.

If you want to go further you only have to link Adrena to a free download of a GRIB file to generate a route plan letting you view the ideal path to take to arrive at your desired destination (a creek for a swim or to cross the finish line as winner). This doesn’t prevent the sea being paved with good intentions and doubtless many reefs and difficult passages being on the route. What can be done so that you set off without worries and fully enjoy your voyage rather than remain concentrated on your competitors’ progress? Adrena has solved the problem by including a RoadBook in Adrena 6.

In this navigational example we shall take a trip through the Channel Islands starting from the port of Le Harve. The final destination is Bréhat. This is a challenging trip as Barfleur must be rounded, then the Pointe de la Hague with the famous Alderney Race, then you have to choose a route between Jersey and Guernsey to finally make landfall at Bréhat, where the currents and rocks may cause havoc if you are not in phase with the tide. The first thing will be to trace your passage via the “WP and Course” menu then “Rapid course creation”. On the fly, we mark four waypoints with the mouse, the first on leaving Le Havre, the second at Barfleur, the third at Cap de la Hague and finally the last at Bréhat. We will call this route Le Havre – Bréhat, to be able to find it quickly in our list. We will not dwell here on the method for creating a course: this will be covered under other technical topics. You can view your course simply via “WP and Course” then “Managing courses”. Select your newly created course then click on “Activate”. Once the course has been created we will add notes to it to prepare our voyage.

“With the GPS you could think you would never be lost; now the Adrena RoadBook puts life into your navigation.”

For example we will immediately mark the merchant vessel traffic separation lanes in the Channel to distinguish the area where we do not want to sail by day, and even less by night.

Click in the RoadBook toolbar on “Create”. A window opens in which we can enter the RoadBook name, “Channel Lanes” in our case. We can then draw one or more areas of the desired shape to which comments can be added.

We will draw a rectangle located on the Channel lanes zone. A single click inserts the first point of our area, and each additional click adds a point marking the area. A double click confirms the area which only remains to be defined with appropriate colours. Once this area has been created it is also possible to create warnings for when we arrive in the area when sailing, or even to exclude this area from a route plan simulation.

We should add a current reminder area for the Alderney Race, as currents can be very strong there. We must pass through the Alderney Race in the North/South direction between HW -2 and HW + 3.We will therefore create an area called the Alderney Race which will remind us of this sailing requirement. This point of passage will be crucial for the rest of our trip. This time we will use the tool for drawing a closed curve to be able to follow the shape of the coast, without making them invisible, which would be a hindrance to navigating. In addition the opacity of the area can be reduced so as to see everything better.

The navigational plan is thus simply prepared. We just have to create and edit each point of passage that we want to include in our RoadBook. Areas can thus be created with reminders, geological phenomena, such as a venturi effect due to a point, can be highlighted, or a reversal of current accentuated by a gulf emptying, or a point with outcrops which has to be negotiated with care etc.

The navigational plan is now finished and all that remains to be done is to print the route calculated with the winds that have been given by default. What is more, it can easily be printed in sections or as the whole route, to have the useful information with you at the helm so that you can take full advantage of the voyage without having to go down every few minutes to check your trace and navigational plan on Adrena, on the laptop computer brought on board before leaving.

Written by Adrena

Adrena is a company providing a large range of products - Octopus, First, Standard and Pro to the world of sailing. Thanks to a complete and progressive offer that fits any level of sailing, our software satisfies the amateur through to professional teams alike.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Join Adrena subscribers list to get the latest news, updates and special offers on our products delivered directly in your inbox.

By giving your email, you agree to the Adrena privacy policy.* You may unsubscribe to our newsletter at any time simply by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter.